The Request was sent by representatives of the inhabitants of the villages of Darshishte, Lajthishte/Sibofc, Cerna Vidoca, and Hade of Obiliq Municipality and the town of Obiliq in Kosovo, the Kosovo Energy Corporation’s independent Kosovo Energy Trade Union and three Kosovar civil society organizations, namely the Institute for Development Policy (INDEP), Institute of Advanced Studies, and Forum for Civic Initiative.

Case Description

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The Project:The proposed Kosovo Power Project (KPP) is currently being prepared by the World Bank. It aims to secure private investment to develop a 600 MW power plant known as Kosovo e Re Power Plant-KRPP, replace the existing Kosovo A Power Plant with a rehabilitated existing 680 MW power plant known as Kosovo B, and develop a new lignite mine called Sibovc South Lignite Mine to provide lignite coal to meet fuel needs of KRPP and Kosovo B.

The Request: The Request raises several social, economic and environmental concerns, and related issues of compliance with Bank policies and procedures.

The Recommendation: The Panel recognizes the legitimacy and significance of the Requesters’ concerns about the potential future impacts of the proposed project, and notes that non-compliance with Bank policies, if it were to occur, could potentially contribute to the harms of the type raised in the Request and noted in the Panel report. The Panel understands that important analytical work, such as the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) for villages that may be resettled, and a proposed labor study, are yet to begin. The Panel's assessment is that, at this early stage in the project preparation process and prior to the start of the ESIA for the project, there are no key World Bank activities or decisions relevant to the concerns raised in the Request with respect to the proposed project that can be reviewed by the Panel as a matter of policy compliance. The Panel, therefore, did not recommend an investigation of whether the Bank has complied with its operational policies and procedures. The Panel notes that affected people will have recourse to the Panel at a later stage in the project cycle if they so wish.